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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25097584">You Can't Stop the Rain</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GummySungShine/pseuds/GummySungShine'>GummySungShine</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Compilation of Final Fantasy VII</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm posting sads, Illnesses, M/M, Medication, Planet Scar Syndrome | Geostigma, Post-Game, Pre-Advent Children (Compilation of FFVII)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:01:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,802</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25097584</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GummySungShine/pseuds/GummySungShine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tseng returns to Healen after a trip to Edge, finding Rufus' condition deteriorating again.<br/>(I'm bad at summaries, but that isn't new).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rufus Shinra/Tseng</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You Can't Stop the Rain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is actually the start of a much longer thing I’ve been working on. But I’m unlikely to share the entire thing, seeing as I never end up finishing stuff.<br/>This can still be enjoyed as a stand-alone piece though. :)</p>
<p>Set post-game, before Advent Children.</p>
<p>As always, this is unbeta’d so there might be mistakes.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>---</p>
<p>Rain.<br/>
Strange. He hadn’t expected it that day. The sky had shown no signs, no threat of it earlier on his way back from Edge. With the dark night above Healen, Tseng couldn’t tell how long it might continue.</p>
<p>Heading up the steps to the cabin, cautious of the now slippery surface under his feet, gloved fingers tapped in the key code. 3 times in total. It was a security feature they’d all agreed on for Rufus’ safety, something that Reno sometimes forgot…<br/>
Shaking his head at the memories of the redhead giving them enough false security breaches to last a lifetime, Tseng quietly let himself inside.</p>
<p>Taking off his wet shoes and coat, nodding in acknowledgement to Rude and Elena as he entered, the pair offered him a smile from their places on the sofas in the room.</p>
<p>“I hope you two weren’t waiting up for me.” He chastised lightly.</p>
<p>“Wanted to make sure you got back safely.” Elena admitted. “Rude kept me company.”</p>
<p>It was already late by the time he got there, past midnight the last time he checked. Since Reno was nowhere to be found, Tseng guessed the redhead must’ve headed off to bed already.</p>
<p>“Get what you needed?” Rude asked, motioning to the damp paper bag their leader clutched.</p>
<p>Nodding, Tseng made his way through the room, stopping just as he got to the other side. “How is he?” He queried tentatively, not caring who answered. The small sigh from the blond told him almost all he needed.</p>
<p>“He’s…” Elena paused, thinking of the best way to put it. “Had another bad episode.”</p>
<p>“Reno’s with him.” Rude spoke up, easing his concerns somewhat.</p>
<p>He figured Rufus would’ve been in a bad way. It was raining after all.<br/>
Sunshine and clear skies seemed to lift his mood enough to stave away the pain of the stigma. But his suffering only seemed amplified by nature’s melancholic mood. Tseng had always thought the rain made Rufus think too much, dwell on things better left forgotten, things he couldn’t change.<br/>
  Rainy days often left the hardheaded blond man a shell of his usual stubborn self. If even out of unrelenting spite he wouldn’t succumb to the stigma, it almost seemed to Tseng that Rufus might’ve considered giving up on days like these.</p>
<p>Shaking his head of the thought, swallowing the lump that’d risen in his throat, he quietly opened the door to the man’s quarters— <em>their</em> quarters, he reminded himself. The one he shared with him.</p>
<p>Dark inside the room, as expected, a sliver of light from the adjoining bathroom illuminated the space just enough for him to navigate his way around. Rufus always liked it dark. He could never really sleep too well otherwise.<br/>
  Shutting the door quietly behind him, Tseng laid his eyes upon the blond as he rested - curled up, rather - in Reno’s hold. Tseng could tell things were probably worse than he thought just by how clingy his boss was. It was just how he was on bad days.</p>
<p>Raising his head, Reno gave the dark-haired Turk a nod, knowing he’d be relieved of his duties— no. Not duties.<br/>
It was never the redhead’s duty to comfort his boss. It wasn’t his duty to do anything for the blond, in fact. It hadn’t been for a while now.<br/>
It was a choice. A conscious one.</p>
<p>“He’s been drifting in and out for a while.” Reno whispered. “Think the meds might’ve properly kicked in.”</p>
<p>The blond had suffered bouts of agony intermittently throughout the day, leaving his Turks at a loss of what to do to help. There was never much they could do. Elena always found those episodes the hardest to watch, leaving the others to kneel at Rufus’ side as he beared the pain. Thankful for the pain meds, no matter how spaced-out and drowsy they made the blond, Reno was just glad they gave the man some respite from his affliction.</p>
<p>“He’s been mumbling stuff.” Reno spoke up again. “Dunno what. Sounds Wutaian to me.”</p>
<p>Wutaian?, Tseng thought. He’d taught Rufus a few things over the years, but they were scarcely used. He himself rarely spoke the language. There was no need to. After all, nobody else around him could. One of the only times he did was in the bedroom… Rufus seemed to revel in the way Tseng uttered his feelings in his native tongue; the declarations of love, his adoration, his praise, as they made love.</p>
<p>“Did you get more meds?” Reno’s whispered voice yanked him from his thoughts.</p>
<p>“Hm.” He nodded. “Stronger. So they should work better.”</p>
<p>Getting hold of most painkillers or medication was becoming far more difficult than ever. The call for them only seemed to increase with each trip they took out. But it was to be expected, considering the number of geostigma cases only seemed to boom with each passing week. It seemed the title of Shinra’s President held no weight anymore, Rufus was just another suffering soul like the rest of them. He could expect no special treatment, and it showed. Trying more traditional, natural means of treatments - native to his birthplace - Tseng hadn’t had much luck either.</p>
<p>Tseng knew if it weren’t for them, the Turks - or what was left of them - Rufus would be very much alone. Or worse. It didn’t bear thinking about what would’ve happened if they hadn’t had found him at the bottom of the office’s escape chute, or saved him from everything else that followed.<br/>
  He couldn’t be left alone. Too many people in the world wanted a piece of Rufus, whether to kill him or simply see him suffer at their hands. Too many close calls had been where Tseng drew the line. Even if Reno, Rude, and Elena hadn’t chosen to stick around, Tseng vowed to protect him until his dying breath. Just as he promised all those years ago once he earned the title of a Turk.</p>
<p>“You can go, Reno.” Tseng smiled faintly, keeping his own voice bearly above a whisper. “I’ll take over from here.”</p>
<p>Moving over to the opposite side of the bed, placing the bag of pills upon the nightstand with the plethora of others, Tseng watched the redhead carefully peel himself away from Rufus’s grasp. He did his best not to disturb him too much, an action Tseng was grateful for.</p>
<p>“Thank you.” Speaking his thanks to the younger Turk, appreciative of staying by their boss’ side, Tseng let the redhead slip out from the room quietly.</p>
<p>Watching Rufus stir, now alone in the bed, Tseng quickly but carefully slid down beside him, lying next to the blond. If things were as bad as they said, the last thing he wanted was to disturb him from his slumber.</p>
<p>“Shh.” Tseng murmured as Rufus rolled over to face him, eyes beginning to flutter open with a groan.</p>
<p>Fingers grasped at the front of his shirt, clinging weakly, as Rufus curled himself against the Turk.</p>
<p>“Tseng…” Came his feeble call, almost inaudible, eyes fluttering once more as he tried desperately to look at the Turk through heavy lids.</p>
<p>“Shh.” He soothed again, a thumb brushing against his cheek. “I’m here.”</p>
<p>Waiting for him to settle down quietly, letting out a sigh of relief as he seemed to slip back into his slumber, the Turk lay there listening to his steady breaths. He seemed comfortable in his hold, not in any visible pain at least.<br/>
Good, Tseng smiled gently. That was all he wanted.</p>
<p>Still in his rain dampened clothes, he considered perhaps he should’ve changed first, or at least got himself out of them before joining Rufus in bed. Too little too late now, he thought. He’d have to wait until he was sure he wouldn’t disrupt the blond’s sleep.</p>
<p>It took only a few minutes for Rufus’ breaths to even out, slow and steady, telling him he’d drifted off fully. Confident he wouldn’t wake him, the Turk peeled himself away from his slumbering superior, finally getting out of his damp clothes and into something far more comfortable.<br/>
  Making little to no noise as he rejoined him back in bed, all thanks in part to stealth training - among others - that came with the job, Tseng froze still as the blond curled back up beside him, hearing his native tongue come from the man.</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>“I love you.”</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>With a soft smile breaking out upon his face, he pulled the blond closer in his arms, cradling him almost as he placed a kiss atop his head.</p>
<p><b><em>“I love you.”</em></b> He whispered back, closing his eyes, taking a moment to breathe in the scent of his lover’s hair.</p>
<p>Whatever prompted the declaration, in Wutaian no less, Tseng wasn’t sure. Perhaps it was the meds playing around with Rufus’ mind, hazy and unaware of what he was saying. Or maybe he was fully aware. Either way, it brought a smile to the Turk’s face.</p>
<p>Running his fingers gently through flaxen strands, cuddling Rufus close in the darkness of the room, the soft breaths of his boss let him know the man was hopefully settled for the night.<br/>
  Outside the room he could faintly hear chatter from the others. Unable to make out exactly what was said, he remained grateful the three of them kept their voices to a minimum. Though it was late, Tseng guessed it was likely Reno keeping them up with his seemingly endless energy. Keeping him cooped up at the lodge didn’t appear to help the boundless spirit that was the redhead. Perhaps he’d assign him for the next trip out, give him some time to stretch his wings, so to speak.</p>
<p>Tseng never liked leaving Rufus anyhow, but he couldn’t keep passing off duties to the others for the sake of staying by the blond’s side, even if the others offered to head out in his stead. He could never accept their offers, as much as he wanted to. As the Turks’ leader, he still had to do his fair share of the work.<br/>
But days like these made him never want to leave Rufus ever again.<br/>
The fear of getting that dreaded phone call, or returning back to find his lover had succumbed to the stigma, almost paralysed him.</p>
<p>While his condition wasn’t terribly poor, at least not in comparison to others he’d seen, Tseng knew it was still spreading. Slowly but surely. More and more of Rufus’ body laid hidden under layers of bandages, his form growing weaker, the sickness zapping him of his strength. He could only remain strong for so long before the effects hit him like a freight train, just as they’d had now.</p>
<p><b><em>“I’ll end this.”</em></b> He whispered softly in his native tongue, pressing another kiss atop the blond’s head once more. <b><em>“I’ll find a cure. I’ll find something.”</em></b></p>
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